341 A Funeral & A Celebration
"I can. It wasn't my lust. It was-"
"Liar liar, pants on fire. You wanted her. You wanted to touch her. To kiss her. You wanted to take her."
"No. I didn't."
"You didn't."
"Not... Like that."
"Like what?"
"I never would have forced myself on her. I never would have... Done anything to hurt her. I didn't mean to-"
"You didn't mean to, but you wanted to."
"No, I-"
"Your Lust is just that strong. You wanted to take her. You feared that she would reject you. You've feared it all this time. Still, you wanted her."
"No!"
"Even if you don't force yourself on her, even if she rejects you, you'll still crave for her."
"I never would have-"
"But you did."
"It wasn't me."
"But it was."
"It wasn't!"
"Then who was it?"
"It was... It was..." The white-scaled Monster finally turned its gaze towards the hovering Darkness. "It was you."
"You'll put the blame on anyone other than yourself, huh?"
"It wasn't me. I never... I never would have-"
"Excuses and more excuses. Well, Elisa is kind, isn't she? She's understanding. She's naive. Perhaps she'll believe your words."
"She'll believe my words... Because it's true."
"Is that so?"
"It is."
"Then you're telling me... You're telling me that there isn't even a tiny part of you that wanted her badly enough to hurt her? To force her?"
The white-scaled Monster shuddered.
"Have you learned nothing?" The Darkness continued. "You can't keep that part of you out. You can't get rid of it. You can't do that. All you're doing is starving it. And a starving beast is not a pleasant thing to come across."
"It wasn't... My fault."
"Then? Will you go back? Closer to the center of Lust? If this -Influence- that you talk about comes from the Demon Lord, then it'll grow stronger the closer to the Demon Lord you get, don't you think? Will you endanger her again? Will you risk hurting them?"
Before Mark could answer,
BOOOM-
SPLASHHH-
Strident screeches resonated, and the white-scaled Monster nearly passed out.
Mark quickly turned around.
'What the... Why didn't I sense it getting closer? Why didn't I-'
A dozen heads resembling gigantic snakes.
A humongous body that was between that of a toad and that of an octopus.
Countless tentacles.
A dark and pinkish Aura filled the area.
"Perfect." Ani whispered as she cracked her neck. "We've got a score to settle after all."
Thanks to his Advanced Body Reconstruction Magic Skill, Mark had managed to heal his wounds. There was no bleeding whether external or internal.
All that was left was for his Health Points to recover. The wounds were gone, but he was just as close to death as he had been before healing those wounds.
"YOU! FUCK OFF!" The Orcish Fiend shouted. "GET OUT OF HERE!"
"Uhh, Commander. I know we like to go wild but... Isn't the Demon Lord's Pet a bit...?"
"Huh? Turning into a coward now? We're going wild. Wilder than ever. This fucker knocked me down then took six of my Soldiers. It's not getting away."
At their Commander's words, the Soldiers took out their Weapons.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU STANDING OUR FOR? GO!!"
The white-scaled Monster's body froze.
'Should I... Leave them?'
"Stay." The Darkness whispered. "Stay." It repeated.
Mark shuddered.
He understood right away.
"Stay and Devour whoever loses. Devour whoever dies. Devour, as a Hyena would."
Mark took hold of his shaking left wrist.
"I don't have the strength... To fight."
"Don't fight. Devour, as a Scavenger would. Feed on whoever dies."
"I won't... Devour that way."
"Do it. Like an ant would. Like a maggot would."
"I SAID FUCK OFF!!" Ani shouted once more as the Calamity approached.
Mark turned away.
"I won't. Because I... Wouldn't deserve it."
Behind him, the Border.
To his right, the hovering Darkness.
He stared ahead.
-Will you endanger her again? Will you risk hurting them?-
Filled with dread, Mark instinctively started moving.
Left.
"RUN YOU FUCKER!" The Orcish Fiend shouted.
And, for no other reason than because he had been told to do so, Mark started running.
"Holy shit... Holy shit..."
"Let's do this... We can do this... Can we do this?"
"We barely managed to escape earlier. This is..."
"We have to buy time for the-"
"Buy time? Don't tell me the fish living under the water took your balls while I was away?" Ani sneered. "We're not buying time for anyone. We're fucking it up. That's what we're doing!"
The Commander's words immediately lit fires inside the Soldiers' hearts. n-)O(-v((e-(l(-b)-1.)n
"We're taking it on, right here, right now. I'll be your Commander one last time."
"What happens after that?"
"Yeah, what are we doing after that?"
"Where will we go?"
"Can't go back to Sloth now."
"Fuck Sloth. Fuck the Demon Lord. And fuck that white-scaled Monster. We're taking..." Ani cracked her knuckles against her cheek. "One of its heads for each Soldier we lost."
"YEAH!"
"LET'S DO IT!"
"THAT'S A TROPHY WORTH GETTING!"
"FOR THOSE WE LOST!"
With a slight smile on her face, Ani watched as the Calamity was about to exit the waters fully.
'I'm sorry, Lin. I'm sorry that I couldn't make you smile. I'm sorry I couldn't rid you of that boredom. I'm sorry... That I bored you. Even this. Trying to avenge you... Ah! I'm sure you would have found that extraordinarily boring. I followed you for so long. But now... Now...'
"The four of you are all I have left. All I care about."
Ani's words surprised each of the Soldiers standing by her side.
"What was it that Mado was always talking about? The thing he always threatened he would do if I didn't slap him in the face for too long?"
"Oh, that dumbass..."
"Not much of a loss... Fuck that guy..."
"Was it retiring and starting a restaurant? Something stupid like that."
"Wasn't it a bar?"
"Pretty sure it was an inn."
"Ah!" The Orcish Fiend chuckled. "That doesn't sound half bad right now."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
'I'm sorry, Lin. I won't be following you anymore. I'll be with these dumbasses instead. They make me smile. They make me laugh. Half the time it's because they're incredibly stupid but... Still. I'll figure out the future while staying by their side.'
"I never thought of myself as a Commander of Sloth. Maybe that's why the Title never lent me any power or Aura."
"Uhh, Commander? Is it the time for this?"
"I'm not a Commander of Sloth. I've never been." Ani's gaze fixated on one of the Soldiers, then on the next. One by one, she stared into their eyes. "I'm Commander of my Soldiers. The ten of you are my Soldiers. I don't need more than that."
The Soldiers, despite doing, at all times, their best to act masculine in the presence of the ferocious Commander, couldn't help but look away.
"Now, enough sentimental shit."
The Calamity's body rose above the water, and the Commander stepped in front of her Soldiers.
"This is a funeral for the dead. And a celebration for those alive." Ani's palm slapped her shoulder. "Let's fuck things up."
The Soldiers shouted and roared at their Commander's words.
'A Calamity? Ah! That's nothing. As long as...'
'We're with our Commander...'
'We don't fear...
'Anything!'
